World leaders head to Rome for funeral of Pope Francis

Rome, April 25 (IANS) The funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday brings about an unexpected opportunity for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's efforts at bringing Rome to the centre of global diplomacy.

US President Donald Trump has announced his presence for the funeral as Rome works with the Vatican's diplomacy to receive delegations from 170 countries. President Droupadi Murmu will be visiting Vatican City to attend the State Funeral of Pope Francis and offer condolences on behalf of the government and people of India. The Indian delegation would also include Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries George Kurian; and Deputy Speaker of Goa Assembly Joshua De Souza.

Trump's presence in Rome for the funeral creates an opportunity for conversations and discussions with Italian Prime Minister Meloni which would have probably taken weeks or months to coordinate. It is expected that Italy's President Sergio Mattarella will host a meeting with Presidents Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Meloni's presence to discuss a strategy for the future of Ukraine. The US President has also announced that he expects to have "meetings" with other international leaders in Rome.

Meanwhile, it seems European Commission President Von der Leyen is trying to conduct a bilateral meeting with the US President during a visit to the eternal city.

The Italian Prime Minister's visit to Washington concluded with President Trump accepting her invitation to Rome for an EU-US summit in late May. Pope's funeral presents Von der Leyen, who felt excluded from the decision-making process, an opportunity to push for a bilateral meeting and take control of the narrative.

Meloni and Trump will jointly meet world leaders and other senior representatives who will be in Rome for the funeral, especially those from the Middle East. In the past 24 hours, Meloni has had a call with the Sultan of Oman, after his return from Moscow as well as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the terror attack in Pahalgam.

Both Trump and Meloni are strong allies of the Indian Prime Minister and the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir and the resulting tension in South Asia, will be an important discussion point between them. Discussions with other delegations from the Indo-Mediterranean, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan, will also be important for both leaders.

Iran is expected to send a senior delegation to the funeral and the new Cardinal of Tehran-Isfahan, who has been a bridge between the Vatican and Tehran will vote in the coming conclave. While Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral, the country is expected to be represented by its culture minister. As many as 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs will be present at St. Peters, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Argentinian President Javier Milei, Philippine's Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and France's Emmanuel Macron. The United Kingdom will be represented by Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

China, which has no diplomatic relations with the Holy See, has allowed Hong Kong's outspoken Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen to travel to Rome for the funeral. Taiwan, breaking with tradition, will be represented by a high-level delegation and not the President. The Holy See is one of the few countries which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Israel will be represented by a small delegation, given tensions on Pope Francis' view of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach to the Hamas terrorist attack. Despite it being forbidden for Jews to attend funeral services on Saturday, their holy Sabbath, the Chief Rabbi of Rome Riccardo di Segni and the President of the Jewish Community in Rome, Victor Fadlun will both attend the funeral - a testament to the goodwill Pope Francis had developed with all communities.

--IANS

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